The number of challenges confronting the SNP administration over the past week raises doubts about how firm a grip Alex Salmond has on governing Scotland. In that short time, East Renfrewshire Council has told his government it won't comply with his flagship policy on class sizes, and other councils are accusing him of failing to deliver the necessary funding to rebuild crumbling schools. Tayside Police, and not his Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, apparently dictate whether MSPs are given full and honest answers in the Scottish Parliament, and insurance companies are taking the government to court trying to overturn a new law affecting victims of negligent exposure to asbestos.
Taken individually, and spaced far enough apart, these challenges might be dismissed as part of the normal run of government difficulties, but cumulatively, and so close together, they undermine the authority of the executive. Although the schools' issues and the asbestos action affect more people, the escape of three prisoners in the course of a few days from Castle Huntly low-security jail should be causing both Mr Salmond and Mr MacAskill more immediate discomfort.
Mr Salmond was full of bluster at First Minister's Questions when pressed on what was happening in the open prisons' estate. It's a tactic he adopts very effectively to deflect opposition attacks, but for this outing he should reflect on whether arrogant dismissal was the right attitude. He knew there were three absconders but, on the advice of Tayside Police, chose not to inform parliament about the third missing man, the murderer John Burt Brown.
It was not for him, he explained later, to interfere in police operational matters. Just how telling the parliament he leads and the country he represents that a convicted murdered was on the loose would interfere with his recapture remains a mystery. Police were no doubt following "a definite line of inquiry" - the ludicrous phrase every force uses as a catch-all, whether they have any chance of solving a crime or not. Claims by Mr Salmond's spin doctors that opposition attacks have "fizzled out" have as little substance as their boss's performance. There's also no chance of the rebellion by local authorities, unable or unwilling to deliver lower class sizes in primary schools, fizzling out.
East Renfrewshire Council, which has a particular problem because of the number of placing requests it receives, is being honest by declaring it would not observe the targets because they are not backed by legislation. Other councils will follow its lead. The only primary class size limit councils legally have to meet is 30, so while the government's ambition is laudable, it cannot be enforced. If it was serious about achieving its aim - and who would dare question its worth? - why doesn't Mr Salmond and Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop revise the current 10-year-old regulations and make the new limit a legal requirement?
Similarly, the "historic concordat" between councils and Finance Secretary John Swinney is under pressure because councils claim another flagship policy, the Scottish Futures Trust, is failing to provide the funding necessary to refurbish or replace inadequate schools. Both sides should have paid more attention to the small print. However, even if these commitments were enshrined in an Act of the Scottish Parliament, there is no guarantee they would be fulfilled.
Witness the current action in the Court of Session by insurance companies trying to overturn the Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions Scotland) Act which will restore the right of people with pleural plaques to seek damages. Big business is trying to overturn a decision by a democratically-elected parliament and government to ensure their profits are maintained. In this case, Mr Salmond has pledged to defend the action vigorously and, unlike the other examples, is not directly responsible but, as Scotland's leader, the buck stops with him.
More than half a century ago, the question was asked of Anthony Eden, generally regarded as one of the UK's least successful Prime Ministers: where was "the smack of firm government?"
Could the same question be asked today in Scotland?
Mr Salmond is popular and heading a minority administration is not easy, but the issues raised over the past week show cracks in policy implementation and his usual deft decision-making has been laid open to question.
If he's to restore a reputation that has taken a battering over the past few days, "the smack of firm government" must be heard soon.
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